Ok, it looks like you missed the point. I am trying to run under 15:00. I was looking for someone with real insight for tips on getting back into the shape that I was in in college without losing motivation due to the drastic loss in time that one faces in the real world. I actually found what I was looking for, in the form of motivation to run everyday. I was looking for a knowledgeable network of runners to get ideas from. What I found was a bunch of high school c-team casual joggers.
If you still feel it necessary to bash a persons goals, I will post some results for you in November.

Disappointing that an "elite" runner feels it necessary to bash casual joggers. I am also at a loss as to why such a talented runner would feel the need to ask for advice on how to edge under 15:00.... surely you know the answer is to train harder (and by that I mean not take every other month off). I would suggest that a few long runs, combined with 2 x speed sessions a week would take to your goal. The very best of luck and I'm sure that you can make it with a little bit of consistency...... but please don't knock those of us who will never run as fast as you, but just enjoy being able to run, being able to shave those seconds off in the hope of bringing a 10k pb under the hour is equally as worthy as running a world record in my books. Running is a personal thing and we should have personal goals.... for goodness sake that is what makes running the great gift that is! Let's all get out there and enjoy the air that God has given us and thank the Lord that we are able to put one foot in front of the other (however slowly).

Disappointing that an "elite" runner feels it necessary to bash casual joggers.

Careful. The word "casual" seems to strike a nerve.
Which is it people? Is he a troll, or an elite runner who talks down to joggers? I doubt he's both. But it would be hard to tell since, after the first page where his questions were repeatedly mocked, he finally poked back with the c-team comment. What did you expect to happen? If he's a troll, that's what he wanted, if he's not...well it was still predictable.
FWIW, my first reaction was troll as well so I just ignored him. But since I wasn't sure, and since the thread was starting to spiral, I decided to gently nudge him toward a forum where--whether troll or actual post-collegiate runner trying to become regionally competitive--he would find some people in a similar situation. Unfortunately my use of the term "casual" became a topic of its own.
Regarding that, what does speed have to do with level of seriousness? I ran most of my PR's in 2004 (including the one quoted by JakeKnight) when I was definitely more serious about running than I am now. Then I got a little burned out, had a series of major events in my real life and washed out of the sport for almost 2 years. So I'm back running, since June of this year, and I'm trying to take it casually because running is too important to me to let it go away again. I don't run for money, or medals or even for a team. I haven't run a race in over 2 years--unless I include jogging the Falmouth Road Race in '05 with friends and pacing another friend in a Half Marathon last month. The term casual is not derogatory to me. In fact it's the opposite. Running is far from the most important thing in my life but it is important to me, and its something I want to do forever. And casual is the only way I can see myself being able to do it forever and still have it fit in with the rest of my life. There may be times again in the future when I decide to pursue a particular goal or race and I'll need to be temporarily more serious about my training (with the prior approval of the people whose opinion of me I actually care about and whose last name is the same as mine.) But I will always, over the long term, be a casual runner.

:: snort!::
It's not you I'm worried about offending, you hairy buffoon of a gorilla wanna-be! It's the thin-skinned lurkers who might think I meant something entirely different and who might be scared off from posting or get a very wrong impression of me if they read that snide remark in a different context than it was meant.
So you take that "weenie" remark back or I'll sick my cat on you! You haven't met Sweetie yet, but he's 15 1/2 pounds of fur, fluff, and cattitude!

I could not possibly agree more, Mike!
So then why did you decide to label all of us as "casual" - if it's not based on the fact that most of us aren't planning on medaling in Beijing?
I'll clarify:
Pretty much everyone here, by definition, seems pretty serious to me. They post on a message board. They ask for and seek advice. They trade tips on magazines, equipment, shoes, races, programs. Almost everyone here tracks their runs religiously on their log, which is why they're here, of course. More than a few people openly admit being addicted to both running and this forum. A lot of the regulars run almost every day, logging every step. A whole slew of them ran over 100 miles last month. Some - well, you - ran over 200. Most people here run races or are training for a specific race. Frankly, half the people here seem downright obsessed with their little hobby. From a purely statistical standpoint, I think it’s fair to say that most of the “casual” runner here are more athletic, more dedicated, more determined, and able to run farther, longer, and faster than 99% of the rest of the slobs.
So - if it isn't the fact that they're (we're) generally not competitive - why are we "casual?" How exactly do you suggest most of us get more serious about running?
For some here, running seems like a pretty serious hobby; for others it seems like a serious passion; for more than few, those struggling with weight issues, with diabetes, trying to live longer and healthier - it's deadly serious.
There's a guy here who's overweight, diabetic, middle-aged, and a few months ago he sitting on the couch. He doesn't run that far or fast (yet), but he runs. All the time. Logs every mile. Runs 5-Ks and he’s on his way to a half marathon. Is he the casual one? There's another person who dropped sixty pounds, who's here more than most of us are awake, who knows more than most encyclopedias about shoe shopping and where to find the best gear. She casual? One guy ran 5 marathons in 2005 and 6 in 2006. He casual? Another knucklehead is apparently trying to decide between a 48 hour run and running 100 miles over mountaintops. Maybe he's the casual one?
Maybe I'm the casual one? I just got back from a 19.4 miler in 87 degree Nashville heat. A year ago, I struggled to run a 10k. If it isn't the fact that I ran that 19.4 miles slower than turtles hump that makes me "casual," how exactly did I earn the label? If it's not speed, what is it? (And if my little jog was so casual, could you tell my left quad to quit cramping so much?)
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For the record, all of the above was not written to come out the way it probably will sound. That's the problem with message boards. No intonation. I probably should have spiced it with these: . So I hope you don't take offense.
But here's the thing. I wasn't bothered when what's-his-face called us all "casual." After all, he IS a goofy troll. No doubt about that. And even if he's not, he's just using the word as a synonym for "slow."
But it did bother me when you said it. Because you’re not a troll. Because if all my sweat and blood and pain is nothing but easily dismissed “casual jogging,” what’s the point? If this cramp in my thigh, the salt that I’m currently crusted over with, is nothing more than “casual,” why bother?
You're welcome to your opinion, of course. If you think YOU'RE "casual" (despite that 210 carefully logged miles last month), fair enough. And if other people here want to label THEMSELVES as "casual," that's their call. Cool beans.
By my definition, I don't see one casual person here. Their very presence here negates it. In my rarely humble opinion, casual runner don't waste, er, spend hours on a running message board. They don't log every mile. They don't dream about future races. To me, a "casual" runner, regardless of speed, is the guy who just tosses on the tennis shoes and runs around the block once in a while.
(And ironically enough, what's-his-face, our resident former Olympian, qualifies.)
Mostly I’m just confused. If it’s not our speed that gets us labeled as a bunch of “casual runners,” what exactly is it? Maybe we could get some tips on what exactly qualifies us as non-casual?
But all of the above is just my opinion. Maybe everybody else here thinks they're "casual," too. Peachy.
But what bothered me is YOU deciding who is "casual" and who is not. You publicly applying that label to other runners.
Because personally, no matter how frickin' slow I may be, I don’t think I've ever been LESS "casual" about anything in my life. Label yourself if you like. Please don’t label me. Thanks. Much appreciated.
My 2 cents. Sorry for rambling. And no offense was intended. Seriously.
Now it's time to waddle my casual ass into the shower.

'15 Goals:

Hey, GorillaMan...
I *aspire* to be a "casual" runner. I've been running a little over a year. 6 months ago I knew *so* much more about running than I do now. It seems to me that the more people know about something, and I mean *truly* know, the less importance they ascribe to that knowledge. I hope that with another ten years of hard work, study, and dedication I will have achieved the humility that mikey-mike shows in calling himself a "casual" runner. My running's dealdy serious to me (noting your earlier definitions). I take myself and my running very seriously. But, given enough time, that may eventually change. When running's become so much a part of me and my life that I don't even have to think about it anymore... I may then call myself a casual runner. Until that time, I must settle for being a "deadly serious" runner.
Blessings.

JakeKnight, you apparently read way more into my use of the term casual than I inteded, which was designed to make a troll go elsewhere. No offense meant. Casual to me means informal. As in I don't have a coach, or a team or follow a program. I don't earn a living from running or get too wrapped around specific time goals. I generally don't even sign up for races in advance. It's a pretty casual pursuit for me. That doesn't mean I don't work hard. And I never brought up fast or slow--you did, several times now.
I think Wingz is right, running is so integrated into my daily life that I don't really think about it that much.
Now I need to go find some cloths for the morning's run. Happy trails all.